Biphenylsulfonamide endothelin receptor antagonists. 2. Discovery of 4'-oxazolyl biphenylsulfonamides as a new class of potent, highly selective ET(A) antagonists

The synthesis and structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies of a series of 4'-oxazolyl-N-(3,4-dimethyl-5-isoxazolyl)[1, 1'-biphenyl]-2-sulfonamide derivatives as endothelin-A (ET(A)) receptor antagonists are described. The data reveal a remarkable improvement in potency and metabolic stability when the 4'-position of the biphenylsulfonamide is substituted with an oxazole ring. Additional 2'-substitution of an acylaminomethyl group further increased the binding activity and provided one of the first subnanomolar ET(A)-selective antagonists in the biphenylsulfonamide series (17, ET(A) K(i) = 0.2 nM). Among the compounds described, 3 (N-(3,4-dimethyl-5-isoxazolyl)-4'-(2-oxazolyl)[1, 1'-biphenyl]-2-sulfonamide; BMS-193884) had the optimum pharmacological profile and was therefore selected as a clinical candidate for studies in congestive heart failure.